How My Parents Got Together
by Ticklesivory
Summary: An Obidala!Dormakin fic. Padme is explaining to her nine year old daughter the long and somewhat strange tale of how she and ObiWan got together.
1. Chapter 1

**How My Parents Got Together**

By Ticklesivory

* * *

**Prologue**

"Mom? Would you tell me a story?"

"Didn't your father already do that?"

"No." Was the innocent reply as large blue-green eyes of the nine-year-old girl looked imploringly at her mother, but Padmé wasn't falling for it.

"I know better than that. You just don't want to go to sleep!" She ruffled the girl's dark brown curls, but settled onto the side of her bed despite her words.

"Really mom! Dad said he had to go back in the other room to talk with Uncle Ani."

"Well. All right." Padmé acquiesced with a grin. "What kind of story do you want to hear? And don't ask for anything with draigons or clones or sith lords. That's your father's specialty."

"That don't leave much." Padmé's daughter quipped with her father's trademark smirk, but then suddenly asked as if she had been pondering the question for some time: "Mom? How did you and dad get together?"

Dark brown eyebrows arched in surprise. Naobi was old enough to hear it, Padmé figured, but she would definitely leave out the more sordid details.

"Let's see." Padmé began, shifting her body in the bed to find a comfortable position. "It all began when your Aunt Sola showed up at my door, most unexpectedly……

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two** (actually One, but the Prologue messes up the count) ; )

"Sola! What in the galaxy are you doing here?"

Padmé Amidala's sister strolled into the senator's apartment, pasting on a forced smile and ceremoniously dropped her luggage onto the polished purple floor.

"Surprise visit!" The older woman announced before she was abruptly hugged tight by her younger sister.

"I wish you would have told me you were coming!" Padmé announced as she released the woman. "I've been called to the Senate. I'm probably going to be tied up most of the day."

"That's okay." Sola noted, forcing a pleasant smile. "I'm sure Dormé will keep me company."

Padmé stared at her older sister in confusion, hugged her briefly and then grabbed her cloak, joining Captain Typho, her escort at the door. "I'll comm you later. Maybe we can meet for lunch."

"That would be nice." Sola called out after her right before the door to the apartment slid shut.

She then spun on the unsuspecting bodyguard who stood on the opposite side of the common room.

"Dormé? What's going on?"

"I know what you're thinking." The petite but athletically built, dark-brown haired young lady said as she strategically backed herself behind the long, gold divan.

"I doubt it." Sola answered as she glared at the other woman, easing herself behind the couch as well. "Padmé isn't sick! You told me she was sick! That she needed my assistance!"

"She does! Just not the way you think." Dormé maneuvered to the front of the sofa and finally plopped herself down.

"I'm going to ask you one more time. What's going on?" At the contrite expression of the senator's employee, Sola joined the young woman on the sofa and waited patiently for an answer.

Dormé's explanation began hesitantly, but gained speed and animation as she proceeded. "Well…you know there was some trouble with a death threat a few cycles back. The chancellor assigned a pair of Jedi to watch over Padmé. One of them was Obi-Wan Kenobi – you know, one of the Jedi that came to Naboo and helped saved the planet from the droids?"

"Yes. I remember." Sola prompted.

"The other was his apprentice." At this remark, Sola did not miss the scowl of distaste that appeared on Dormé's face. "They hung around here for a while. Stayed in the apartment, attended several banquets and meetings and such."

"Padmé told me about the threat, but she didn't mention any Jedi. Was it that serious?" Sola asked with alarm.

"Not really." Dormé explained hurriedly. "The threat was never carried out and eventually the Jedi left. But not before the real damage was done."

Sola looked confusedly at Padmé's companion. "Damage? What damage?"

"I just found out that Padmé has been secretly seeing Anakin – the apprentice." Once more the sour face appeared. "They've been meeting at the upper level clubs and I think he even snuck in here one night."

"Really?"

"Don't look at me like that. The senator sent me home for a holiday. I wasn't even here." Dormé said in her own defense. "Or else I wouldn't have allowed him in."

"Why not? What's wrong with him?" Sola chuckled at Dormé's expense. She had known Dormé for many years, having met her back on Naboo. Padmé and she were good friends, and although Dormé tended to get into trouble with her rather overzealous nature, she was genuinely trustworthy and reliable. A good companion and bodyguard for her younger sister.

"Everything!" Dormé blurted out. "He's too young for her. He's too arrogant, self-centered, self-absorbed, cocky, argumentative, disrespectful…need I go on?"

"Sounds like you don't care much for him."

The bodyguard cocked her head to the side and cast Sola an incredulous look.

"He's all wrong for her. I don't know why, but she can't see it. It's like he has some kind of power over her or something. He's blinded her to his faults – which are many."

"More than you've already pointed out?" Sola asked with a hint of playful sarcasm.

"Oh, I can keep going." Dormé huffed, crossing her arms.

Sola sighed heavily. "And the reason that you insisted I come here is to…?"

"We have to split them up."

Padmé's older sister began shaking her head. "I will not. Padmé is twenty-four years old! A senator! She can make up her own mind who she goes out with. She's a big girl now, Dormé."

"You're wrong. She can't make up her own mind!" The bodyguard leaned toward her guest and whispered conspiratorially. "I think he's using the Force to coerce her into liking him. That's what I think!"

Alarmed by this news, Sola began to wonder if there was possibly any truth to the girl's outlandish claims. "What are you planning on doing?"

A wide smile spread across Dormé's face. "Anything and everything I have to." She announced firmly. "Are you with me?"

Another heavy sigh escaped the older woman's nostrils and much to her own surprise, she heard herself say… "I suppose. There's nothing else for me to do."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three…Two…awww, who's counting? **

"Ewww! You were going out with Uncle Ani?" Naobi interrupted the story with a look of complete disgust written on her face.

"What's so bad about that?" Padmé asked in surprise at her daughter's reaction.

"He's just so….I dunno. It's just weird! And he's nowhere near as good-looking as daddy."

"I'll agree with you about that. But what's so weird about it? He isn't really your uncle, you know." Padmé teased with a playful pinch of the girl's nose.

Naobi wrinkled her nose in response and grinned lopsidedly. "I know. And Dormé' isn't my real aunt either. But it's still….weird."

"Can I get back to the story now?"

Naobi responded with a vigorous nod of her head as she hugged her stuffed wookie tight in her arms, eyes wide, listening intently to her mother.

* * *

"So, how did you find out about Padmé and Anakin?" Sola asked the lip-chewing bodyguard.

"Huh?"

The girl was obviously in the processing of planning something…and the realization of that fact made Sola rather…nervous.

"Oh, I stumbled across her personal calendar when I was paying the bills."

"Stumbled?" Sola repeated suspiciously.

"Okay. I was snooping, but she was working too many late nights and I got worried." Dormé then commenced to biting her nails.

"Why does Padmé feel the need to hide this relationship from you?"

"Well…" Dormé hesitated, dropping her hand in her lap. "Maybe it was the time I told Anakin to get the hell out. Or maybe it was when I called him a bantha's ass and shut the door in his face." The young woman shrugged her shoulders. "Either one of those incidences could have hinted that I wasn't very pleased with him. I suppose Padmé picked up on that and didn't want me nagging her about him."

"I still don't see the need to interfere." Sola commented, her worry now outweighing her previous concerns.

"We have to!" Dormé insisted in a panic and then visibly calmed. "Do you remember when we were little and I used to come over and spend the night?"

"Yes." Sola admitted. How could she forget? The last time Padmé had had Dormé over for a slumber party, the recycler had gotten stopped up, the 'fresher mirror broken, and her parents ended up calling security when neither her sister nor Dormé were anywhere to be found the next morning. Apparently, Dormé had decided they were better off sleeping in a tree in the back yard, and didn't bother telling anyone about it.

They were being adventurous, she had heard Padmé defend her friend, but her father's word had been reckless.

"We used to stay up and play this game, Forici. Remember it?"

"I remember Mother getting very upset when she found that Dark Force crystal under Padmé's bed."

"Well, I still have it." The younger woman admitted with a wry grin.

"What? Dormé! You know you aren't supposed to play with the dark forces! It's dangerous!"

"It's just for fun!" The bodyguard defended with a slight whine. "Wanna try it?"

"I certainly do not." Sola insisted firmly.

"Fine." Dormé pouted. "Then you'll just have to trust me that I've consulted the Forici Crystal and it has revealed that a dark presence will come into Padmé's life and be the cause of her untimely death."

"That game told you that?" Sola asked cynically.

"It was very clear!" Dormé insisted quite adamantly. "Anakin! The dark presence is Anakin!"

"I thought you said he was a Jedi." Sola argued.

"That doesn't mean anything." Dormé brushed her off with a wave of her hand and then went back to biting her nails. "It's Anakin. I just know it. We've got to do something."

"Maybe you should show me this calendar." The older woman suggested.

Another wave of her hand refused the idea. "That won't do any good. She's not going to sneak off with him now that you're here. I should've thought about that before."

"I still would like to see it." Sola insisted. Maybe Dormé was making too much of this, which wouldn't surprise her in the least.

In a few clicks, the senator's personal calendar was revealed on the datacom and Sola perused it carefully.

"What's GCB?" The older woman asked as she viewed a meeting scheduled for the next day.

"I don't know." Dormé replied, peering over Padme's sister's shoulder.

"There's a number. Here. Call it." Sola suggested as she handed Dormé the comm.

The bodyguard punched in the listed number and then waited, but when the call was accepted, she promptly dropped the comm to the floor and stepped back in shock.

"What's wrong?" Sola asked as she reached down to pick up the comm.

"Galactic City Bridal!" Dormé gasped as her hand flew to her mouth.

Sola's eyes widened. Perhaps, Dormé wasn't over-reacting after all.

"Here! Take it!" She theatrically whispered to the young woman.

"No!" Dormé insisted, shaking her head rapidly back and forth.

"Fine!"

The older woman cleared her throat and began speaking into the device. "Yes, hello. Sorry about that. I dropped the comm. My name is Dormé. I am the personal assistant to Senator Amidala. I am calling to confirm the senator's meeting for tomorrow afternoon at 1400 hours."

Sola quickly switched to speaker-comm mode and the shrill shop droid's voice filled the common room.

"Confirmation accepted. Senator Amidala's bridal fitting will commence at 1400 hours."

"Thank you." Sola replied as she hung up.

By now, Dormé was pacing back and forth across the thick lavender rug. "This is bad…this is bad." She was muttering. "Bad…bad…bad.."

"So what are we going to do?" Sola asked, prompting the woman to stop before she made herself dizzy.

"This calls for extreme measures, I'm afraid."

"Why don't we just talk to her?" Sola attempted to be reasonable, if that was possible in Dormé's galaxy.

"You know Padmé! She's too stubborn! Once her mind is made up…it's made up!"

Fists planted firmly on her narrow waist, Dormé met Sola's eyes with a firm gaze. "We must act. Tonight!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"Shh!" Dormé hushed Padmé's older sister to silence when the older woman cursed after when she stubbed her toe against the dressing table in Padmé's room that night. The unsuspecting senator was sound asleep in her bed.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" She quietly asked Padmé's bodyguard one last time.

"We already decided that this is the only course of action! Now, be quiet and give me the towel."

Hesitantly, Sola handed over a folded white cloth to Dormé, who proceeded to soak the contents of the small bottle she held in her hand.

"You're sure that's safe?" The older sister questioned.

"Yes, yes. It's dyoxan. Perfectly safe."

"Dyoxan! Dyoxan's poisonous!"

"Sh!" Dormé spun the bottle toward the passing traffic's light shining through the bedroom window. "Tryoxan. I meant tryoxan. Perfectly safe for humans. It will only knock her out."

Sola shook her head. She had a bad feeling about this. "How do you know how much to use?" She whispered one of her many worries aloud.

Dormé, however, gave her a confident smirk and proceeded to approach Padmé's bed ever-so-cautiously.

The white towel was gently placed over the young woman's mouth and nostrils, and then the fight began.

Sola was prompted by Dormé's grunted plea for help once she discovered she was losing the battle of holding the senator down, and the older woman dove onto the bed in order to assist until the drug could take effect.

Eventually, Padmé's struggling ceased and she went limp in the women's arms.

"She's still breathing, right?" Sola asked nervously.

Dormé cast her a fearful look and immediately felt for escaping breath from her captive. "Yes. I told you, she'd be fine. Now help me get her dressed."

Between the two of them, they managed to get Padmé out of her nightgown and into Dormé's dark blue velvet gown and matching cloak, drawing up the hood.

"And we're just supposed to march her right past Captain Typho? This is never going to work." Sola pointed out.

"Like I told you before, you are the one taking her out. I've got to prep the room for Typho's morning inspection. I'll meet you on the balcony in a few minutes."

Sola hefted the dead weight of her sister up onto her feet and swung her arm around the petite body to support her.

"Son-of-a-sith." Came a murmured response, to which Sola immediately jerked her head toward Dormé in alarm.

"What was that?"

"Oh…Uhm. Side effect. Sometimes tryoxan renders the victim slightly disinhibited. Padmé might start saying things she would normally never say."

"You nerf-herding poo-doo head."

"Like that." Dormé noted, helping Sola to escort Padmé's now stumbling body to the doorway.

"She isn't knocked out! It's more like she's drunk!" Sola pointed out as Padmé turned her lolling head to one side.

"Hey Sssola! Waddya doin' here?"

Sola grinned at her intoxicated sibling, guiding her to the foyer and securing the hood around her face. "Just taking you out for some fresh air, sis."

"That'sss ssnisse. Your sssso nisssse."

Dormé cringed at the glare cast by the older woman before opening the door to the hallway and checking for the Captain, who was standing just a few feet away from the door. She whispered a reminder to Sola. "Try to keep her quiet. I'll be on the balcony waiting."

Sola began to wonder about divine intervention when she actually reached the lift door without being seen, but visibly flinched as Typho's yell stopped her from entering it's open door.

"Just where do you two think you're off to?"

Sola turned her head back toward the captain, re-adjusting Padmé in her supportive one-arm embrace. "Dormé had a little too much to drink tonight, Captain. I'm just taking her out for some fresh air."

Captain Typho, as usual, looked rather suspicious and Sola held her breath.

"Very well. I trust the senator isn't in a similar condition."

"Oh…no, no." Sola assured the guard. "You know Padmé. She doesn't touch the stuff."

The captain nodded his head slowly and smiled. "You two be careful. Dormé will probably regret this in the morning." He noted with a chuckle before turning and walking back down the hall.

"Oh…I don't doubt it." Sola quietly agreed as the lift door concealed their presence inside.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The air car hovered outside of Padmé Amidala's apartment and just for a moment, Sola entertained the thought of flying off and leaving Dormé to explain herself to Captain Typho.

But one look at her now sleeping younger sister re-affirmed her previous decision to support Dormé's somewhat ridiculous plan.

If Padmé's life was in danger as her bodyguard believed, by the very man whom Padmé was engaged to, then they had no choice but to take her away. For her own protection.

It wouldn't be the first time Padmé had fallen for the wrong guy, Sola recalled. That boy named Palo. He was…different. It had taken some persuasive talking on her mother's and her part to dissuade Padmé from pursuing a relationship with the young man. If it hadn't been for Dormé's warning about the boy being somewhat 'flamboyant,' there's no telling what would've happened.

Dormé had been right about him, maybe she was right about this Anakin guy too. The last time Sola had seen or heard from Palo, his name had been changed to Paula, and he had a better figure than she did.

So, when Dormé made the short leap from the balcony to the air car containing the two siblings, Sola maneuvered the vehicle as close as she could and then sped away toward the senator's private docking station, where the ship that would take them to Naboo awaited.

Boarding the vessel was simple enough. Sola had permission to return to Naboo at any time, and the docking attendants didn't ask any questions. With the clearance from the flight station and an open departure window, the only task ahead of them was flying the ship up and out into space. Simple enough, thought Sola, if it weren't for the fact that this was Padmé's private yacht, and certain security measures had obviously been modified.

"Did you try that button?" Sola asked the now exasperated bodyguard as she discovered the variety of switches and controls no longer responded to her touch.

"Ric and the Captain must have changed the security sensors after that last threat. Nothing is working!"

Just then, the docking control droid sounded over the ship's comm. _"Departure window closing in four point six minutes."_

"We've got to get Padmé up here." Dormé exclaimed, hurrying past Sola toward the back of the ship.

The two women dragged the senator's limp form to the pilot's seat and Sola attempted to revive the younger woman.

"Padmé?" Sola urged, tapping her sister firmly on the cheek. She forced a grin as brown eyes were sluggishly revealed.

"Ssssola! Wha tha hell you doin' here?"

"Padmé, we need you to wake up and tell us how to start your ship."

"_Departure window closing in three point two-zero minutes." _

"Hmm?" The senator asked as she swayed in the seat and Dormé had to prop her back upright.

"Your highness." The bodyguard intoned firmly. "There has been a raid on Naboo and we need to return immediately. Your people need your help."

Sola cast Dormé a look of irritation at the lie, which the younger woman ignored when she discovered that her words apparently had the intended effect. The senator's back straightened and although her hand wavered, the sensor of the ignition switch picked up her print signature and the ship's engines roared to life.

Dormé immediately took Padmé's place in the pilot seat and Sola attempted to return her sister back to the sleep couch in the rear of the ship.

"Sssssola? Where we goin?"

"Back to bed, young lady." The older woman replied as she steered the stumbling body in that direction.

"Bed. Hmmm." Padmé's head fell heavily onto the narrow pillow at the end of the sofa, her legs sprawled halfway off onto the floor, as Sola did her best to position her fully onto the couch.

"That'ssss nissssse." Padmé hissed. "You're sssso nissssse." The slurred words heralded a snore from the young woman as once more the station controller's voice was heard throughout the ship.

"_Departure window cleared. Have a safe flight." _

The following morning, Captain Typho became alarmed as he glanced at his wrist chrono yet another time and noted that the senator was running late. He activated the chime on her door, and unholstered his blaster when there was no answer. Using his emergency access code, he stealthily crept into Padmé's living quarters, making his way to her bedroom.

Once inside, he called out to the senator, who apparently was still lying in bed, and then approached her slowly.

"Senator Amidala?"

A hand touched a shoulder that was far too soft, even for her, and the security guard threw back the covers to discover nothing but rolled up gowns and pillows.

The young captain immediately activated his comlink. "Typho here. We have a situation. Senator Amidala is missing."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Five**

"Mom!" Declared the young girl who sat up in bed, gazing at her mother in disbelief. "Aunt Sola and Aunt Dormé kidnapped you!"

"Sort of." Padmé admitted with a smirk.

"Whoa." Naobi replied. "I bet you were mad."

"I wouldn't say that." Her mother tried to explain right before a loud 'Ha!' drew their attention to the girl's bedroom door where Dormé had appeared.

"Your mother was furious!" The other woman declared as she moved into the room and sat down on the end of Naobi's bed. "That is, once the tryoxan wore off."

"What happened?" The young girl turned her attention toward their guest. "Did Mom give you '_the look_?'" Naobi attempted an imitation of Padmé's most stern glare. "The one she always gives Dad whenever he leaves his lightsaber where I can reach it?"

Dormé struggled to hold back a chuckle. "Oh, I got _the look_ all right, and then some." She admitted, concealing the truth of the barrage of obscenities that the senator flung at her and Sola -- words which were not influenced by any drug.

"So what did Daddy do? Was he scared like that time I got lost in the Temple?"

Padmé grinned widely at her daughter's comment. Naobi had been two years of age and quite a handful. It was the first time that Obi-Wan had taken her to the Temple since she was a baby, and he was wanting to show her off. However, he had gotten distracted by a conversation with Master Windu and like most toddlers with an overactive imagination and curiosity, Naobi had wandered off.

Master Yoda found the little girl a couple of hours later in the commissary, sitting happily on Adi Gallia's lap, devouring most of the Jedi's meal.

Obi-Wan had been frantic and then immensely apologetic to Padmé afterward, vowing never to let Naobi out of his sight again.

In response, Padmé teased him that their daughter would probably be the only young woman on Coruscant whose father accompanied her on all of her dates. But Obi-Wan promptly disagreed; his argument being that he wasn't going to allow Naobi to date at least until she was thirty standard years old.

"Well Mom?" Naobi brought her mother back to the present. "What did daddy do? Did he rescue you and squish you with hugs 'til you couldn't breathe, like he did me?"

Padmé looked over at Dormé and they exchanged knowing grins.

"Not exactly, honey."

* * *

Obi-Wan Kenobi and his young apprentice, Anakin Skywalker stood inside the apartment of Senator Padmé Amidala. Although the Jedi Padawan was only nineteen years old, he was a few inches taller than his Master, but not nearly as stout as the man who was delivering the report of the senator's disappearance. Captain Typho was a relative of Captain Panaka, whom Obi-Wan had met on Naboo, and just as devoted to the protection of Padmé as his predecessor. Which was why Obi-Wan was having difficulty understanding how the young woman had been taken away under Typho's very nose.

"Sola was here." Anakin questioned the guard. "And you say she was taking Dormé outside for some fresh air?"

"Because she was intoxicated." Captain Typho explained further.

"Was Sola drunk as well?" The older Jedi asked as he looked around the apartment.

"No. Not that I was aware of. She seemed perfectly sober."

"And you say that Sola mentioned that Padmé was inside and sober as well."

"That's correct. The senator doesn't drink."

"This doesn't make any sense." The padawan noted as Obi-Wan inspected the balcony.

"You're right, padawan. There are several things here that don't feel right." The Knight noted as he re-entered the apartment. "Her clothing is all accounted for, correct?"

"All except for one travel suit and a cloak." Typho noted. He had performed a complete inventory of the senator's apartment to ensure it had not been burglarized.

"Does the senator sleep in the nude?" Obi-Wan asked solemnly.

"Master!"

"No. And all of her sleeping attire was on the bed. Nothing except for the one suit and cloak is missing." Typho noted with a stern glare.

"Let's not forget Dormé and Sola. They appear to be missing as well." The Jedi scrubbed his beard with his fingers. "What time did you say you saw Sola and Dormé leave?"

"About 0200 hours." The guard replied.

"And what time did you check her room?"

"A little after 0700 hours."

"Five hours is plenty of time for an abduction to have taken place, Master." Anakin noted.

"If that's what happened, padawan, which I don't think it is."

"What do you mean?" Captain Typho asked with a mixture of intrigue and alarm.

"I believe that the senator was taken, but not maliciously. There are traces of a chemical on her bed, that if you have tested, will more than likely show up as a derivative of the poison called dyoxan." Obi-Wan noted, recalling the deadly gas that the Trade Federation had used on him and his Master. He'd never forget the smell. "It's probably tryoxan; a harmless intoxicating agent."

"You're saying that Senator Amidala was drugged?"

"Yes." Jedi Kenobi responded to the Captain's question with confidence as his hands drew inside the sleeves of his dark brown robe. "And I believe it was Padmé whom you saw being taken out by Sola last night, not Dormé."

"What makes you think that, Master?" Anakin asked, copying the older man's stance.

"Padmé would not have been capable of making the jump off the balcony in her state. There are scuff marks and a hand print on the railing."

"Maybe they belong to someone who snuck into the apartment." Captain Typho argued. "Maybe the kidnapper."

"The hand print is pointing the wrong direction. I'm guessing that Dormé probably leapt from the balcony railing and into an awaiting air car."

"Sola and Dormé kidnapped the senator? But why?" The captain found the discovery difficult to believe.

"I'm not sure." Obi-Wan replied as his hand swept down across his bearded chin. "But I'm going to find out."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

The entire situation was getting stranger by the minute.

After checking with the senate docking station, a droid attendant there reported three women matching the descriptions of Dormé, Sola, and Padmé boarding the senator's private vessel.

Departure records indicated the ship was scheduled to land on Naboo and should be doing so in about three standard hours.

"This is quite peculiar, Master." Anakin noted as they reviewed the flight logs.

"I agree." Obi-Wan replied with a nod and a twirl of his moustache between his finger and thumb.

"Why would Dormé and Sola drug Padmé and take her off planet?"

"I was hoping you could tell me, Anakin." The knight responded flatly, handing the datacom back to the droid technician and turning to face his apprentice. "You were with Padmé the night before last. Did she mention anything that would explain these events?"

The young man was taken aback by his Master's question. He had thought he and Padmé had kept their meetings much more discreet.

"Not really, Master." He said calmly, but Obi-Wan could not help but notice the slight blush on his apprentice's face.

"You've been spending a lot of time with the senator lately, Anakin. Is there anything you wish to tell me?"

Once again, the padawan's face colored, but he replied firmly. "No, Master."

However, Obi-Wan knew that Anakin was keeping something from him. He didn't think the boy was lying – he just wasn't freely offering any information. That was fine, decided the Jedi, as long as it didn't affect their mission.

He might not be able to read his apprentice's thoughts, but he did know that his padawan would never do anything to jeopardize the safety of someone who meant so much...

To both of them.

"It's not as bad as we first thought." Anakin noted as the two Jedi left the docking station and made their way back to their transport. "At least she's in the company of someone who won't cause her any harm."

"Can we be so sure about that?" Obi-Wan asked with a wry grin, to which his apprentice began to chuckle.

"I suppose you're right, Master. Sola, we can trust, but I'm not so sure about Dormé."

* * *

"Wait a minute! Did Anakin really say that about me?" Dormé asked Padmé as they sat on Naobi's bed.

"That's what I was told." The senator responded with a wink aimed at her daughter.

"Well, I think I'll just go back in there and tell him what a…" Dormé's angry outburst stuttered to a stop when she noticed the innocent and curious expression on the nine-year-old's face.

"As I recall," Padmé interjected. "You said much worse things about him. Let's see…I believe you said he was self-centered, disrespectful, argumentative…"

"Don't forget arrow gant, mom." Naobi added.

"Arrogant. That too. Thanks honey."

"All right…all right! Go on with the story." Dormé conceded with a pout.

* * *

"Where am I?" Padmé's groggy voice questioned as she swiped at the hand that was irritatingly touching her forehead.

Her eyes squinted open slowly and she hissed as the sunlight in the room lodged tiny daggers into her brain. Forcing one eye open, she hissed again as she viewed the rather offensive sight of Dormé hovering over her.

"How's the head?" Her typically friendly and devoted bodyguard asked. But for some reason, Padmé's sense of survival was blaring a warning for her to beware.

"Pounding." She moaned, rubbing her temples, squeezing her eyes shut once again. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" A familiar voice asked and Padmé peered one eye open toward its source.

"Sis? Where are we?" The surroundings looked vaguely familiar, but then again, they didn't.

"On Naboo. In the Lake Country." Sola replied quietly with a smile as she leaned over her sister and swept back the hair from her face.

However, as her sibling's awareness returned and the brown eyes opened wide and then suddenly narrowed dangerously, Sola backed up, dragging Dormé along with her.

But Dormé didn't need any prompting. She was well aware of the senator's capabilities.

Slamming and locking the door to the room where they planned on keeping Padmé until she got her head straightened out, Sola was startled as it seemed anything that wasn't bolted to the floor was being thrown against the door, accompanied by a string of various demands to be released; some of which were actually quite colorfully phrased.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Sola had a bad feeling about this.

She sat in the kitchen of the small lake retreat and watched as Dormé busied herself preparing a meal for all of them. The young brunette looked at ease and occasionally even smiled to herself.

Did Dormé not realize what was about to happen?

Maybe she needed a reality check.

"You do realize the Jedi will be coming." Sola noted as Dormé searched for an ingredient for the soup she was preparing.

"Yeah." The other woman stated nonchalantly. "I figure they'll arrive about in time for third meal."

Sola watched the young woman with amazement. Was she honestly not worried at all? Or maybe Dormé really was crazy. But that would mean Sola was too for allowing the girl to talk her into something like this.

The older woman was about to remind Dormé of the dangers of going up against a Jedi Knight, let alone two of them, when a loud banging, followed by a furious yell echoed down the hall.

"_Would someone open the damn door? I need to use the fresher!" _

Dormé immediately rummaged through the kitchen cabinets and withdrew an oblong durasteel container.

"Here." She said, handing the object to Sola. "Have her use this."

Sola responded with a dropped jaw. "You're not even going to let her use the 'fresher?"

"Nope." Replied Dormé, stirring the boiling broth on the stove. "Not yet, anyway. I know Padmé." She added with a wave of the soup ladle. "Before we realize what happened, she'll have climbed out the 'fresher window and dove into the lake in order to get away."

"No, she wouldn't." Sola insisted, glancing out the small oval kitchen window. It was at least two kilometers to the shoreline from the remote little island the house was built upon.

"Oh yes she would." Dormé argued, turning off the stove and preparing the dishes. "She'd try at least, but she'd end up drowning herself and instead of us being charged with just her abduction, we'd be charged with her murder as well."

Sola gulped at the thought. What had she gotten herself into? What would happen to her children?

"Do you really think she'd bring charges against us?"

"Absolutely." Dormé replied straight-faced. "If only to teach us a lesson."

"Wonderful." Sola groaned.

"Which is why we can't let Padmé go until we've convinced her that Padawan Skywalker is _not_ the right man for her.

"And when the Jedi arrive?" Sola prompted.

"We have to keep Anakin away from her." Dormé noted as she set the soup bowls onto a tray.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Sola rose, turning to retrieve the durasteel container and followed Dormé out of the kitchen, across the small common room, and toward the single bedroom Padmé occupied.

"I know exactly what to do. Don't worry. Everything's prepared."

Sola stopped in her tracks, grabbing Dormé by the arm. "How….When did you have the time to prepare anything?" She asked incredulously.

"You know that holiday Padmé sent me off on not too long ago? Well, I didn't spend it baking cookies, if you know what I mean." Dormé said with a smirk.

"You came here?"

"Sure. Why not? The bodyguard reached the door and set down the tray. "It's my house. My parents left it to me."

Sola looked intently at the younger woman. She was aware that Dormé's parents were included amongst the numerous casualties of the Trade Federation Occupation.

She wasn't sure what they had done for a living, and although the house was small, with its one bedroom, single 'fresher, common room, kitchen, and basement, it was isolated, accessible only by boat, and considered prime Naboo real-estate.

Then another thought occurred to Sola. If Dormé had been planning this all along, there was no telling what the girl had up her sleeve.

And suddenly, instead of Sola being concerned about what would happen to them, her worry shifted to the unsuspecting Jedi who were walking right into the conniving little bodyguard's trap.

* * *

"Conniving isn't exactly the word I would've used." Dormé interrupted Padmé's story with another pouting comment. 

"Oh really." Padmé grinned at her long-time friend. "Can you think of a better one?"

"How about sneaky?" Came the unexpected reply from the doorway as Anakin stuck his head into the room.

"I was going to say 'resourceful.'" Dormé replied with a smirk aimed at the welcome intruder.

"Dormé what's keeping you? I thought you wanted to go home."

"Hi, Uncle Ani!" Naobi quipped cheerfully from her bed.

"And I thought you were supposed to be asleep Nay-Nay." The young man strode into the room and sat next to Dormé at the foot of the bed, his arm wrapped leisurely around the young woman.

"Mom and Aunt Dormé were telling me 'bout the time Mom got 'ducted."

Anakin's brow rose in confusion at the girl's statement, but Padmé explained. "When Sola and Dormé abducted me and took me to the Lake Country."

"Oh." The Jedi pondered. "That's kind of an extensive tale, isn't it? Should Nay-Nay stay up that late?"

"She's getting the condensed version." Dormé noted.

"Yeah." Naobi agreed. "No mushy stuff."

"Mushy stuff! There was mushy stuff? Where was I?" Anakin asked right before he was elbowed in the ribs by Dormé.

"You know perfectly well where you were." She replied in mock irritation.

"Ohhhh, yeah. I was in the…"

His statement was interrupted by Dormé's hand promptly being placed over his mouth.

"Sh!" She warned and his blue eyes widened, seeking out Padmé.

"We haven't gotten that far yet." The senator informed him.

"Oh. Sorry." Anakin excused himself with a playful nip at the hand he removed from his mouth, twining his fingers through Dormé's.

"Then don't let me stop you." The Jedi said and then smiled at the little girl who was sitting up in bed, obviously wide awake. "Pay attention, Nay-Nay. This is the best part."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"I swear, Dormé. When we get back to Coruscant, I'm having you committed." Padmé responded with a glare from where she sat on the end of the bed, watching as Sola and Dormé brought in what appeared to be a meal and some strange silver object.

"And I can't believe you went along with this." The senator directed toward her sister.

"There's a perfect explanation, Padmé." Sola tried to calm her sibling.

"Oh?" The young woman on the bed crossed her arms in aggravation. "I'd like to hear it."

Dormé casually set the tray with the soup down onto a dark wooden dresser and turned to smile at her employer. "Let's just say that lately you haven't been making the wisest of decisions."

A look of utter confusion appeared on Padmé's face. "What are you talking about?"

"When it comes to men, Padmé, you have to admit that you don't make the best choices."

"What does Palo have to do with anything?" Padmé said, rubbing her forehead. "That was a long time ago. I was young. And if you haven't noticed, I'm grown up now. I can make up my own mind." She finished through clenched teeth.

"About some things, yes." The bodyguard agreed and Sola watched in disbelief at the banter between the two women. If she didn't know them, she would think that the employment situation was the other way around.

"But once again, the situation calls for my intervention. It is my duty to protect you, ya' know."

"Protect me? From what!?"

Just then the sputter of an approaching power boat reached Dormé's hearing and she smiled at Padmé. "Speaking of which, we have company."

She then turned to Sola as she made her way to the door. "If you wouldn't mind turning on the shower for a while. Don't let her out of the room, and you might want to explain what that's for." Dormé added, pointing to the durasteel container she had tossed onto the bed.

* * *

Obi-Wan and Anakin approached the relatively small silver-domed structure along steps made of flagstone which matched the typical terra cotta color of most of the houses in the Lake Country. They approached the arched carved wooden door and stopped.

"What do we do now, Master?" The apprentice questioned, his hand hovering over the hilt of his lightsaber hanging from his utility belt, preparing to force his way into the house.

"Knock." Obi-Wan answered simply as his hand reached out to rap firmly on the door.

Surprisingly, the door swung wide immediately following the second knock, leaving his hand hanging in mid air and a smiling Dormé greeted them.

"Why Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. What a surprise seeing you here! What brings you to Naboo?"

Anakin looked confusedly toward his Master, but Obi-Wan peered calmly at the young woman. "I need to speak with Senator Amidala, please. Is she here?"

"Of course she is." Dormé replied, moving out of their way. "Please come in."

The two Jedi entered the dwelling, the apprentice much more cautiously than the Master. Ever since Dormé had thrown him out of Padmé's apartment and called him a bantha's ass, he just didn't quite trust her.

"Have a seat." Dormé offered as she waved her hand to a comfortable-appearing blue sofa that was placed in front of a tall gray stone fireplace.

"No thank you." Obi-Wan responded. "I'd like to speak with the senator now."

"I'm afraid she's in the shower."

Obi-Wan turned his attention from the common room down the short hall to his left and indeed could hear the sound of running water.

"Then I'd like to speak with her sister. Is she available?"

"She should be in her momentarily." Dormé countered with a smile. "How about something to eat? I made some soup earlier. Padmé's favorite. I could warm up some for you."

Obi-Wan noticed his apprentice's head leaning in order to get a glance into the kitchen around the corner, and he quickly interrupted his padawan's train of thought. All the boy ever thought about was food.

"We wouldn't want to trouble you." Obi-Wan replied.

"No trouble at all." Dormé waved off their concern with a wave of her hand and exited the room, heading toward the kitchen, with his eager apprentice at her heels. The Jedi rolled his eyes and followed.

Soon, they were seated around a rectangular wooden table on cushioned chairs and Dormé was ladling some type of vegetable-based broth into yellow ceramic bowls.

"This is a family recipe. I usually make it at least once a week."

Anakin breathed the fragrance of the soup before eagerly picking up his spoon and dipping it into the thick liquid. However, a slight touch on his arm from his Master stilled his movements.

"Perhaps you should explain why you felt the need to drug the senator and drag her all the way out here to the Naboo Lake Country." Obi-Wan attempted to get straight to the point, but by the look on Dormé's face, knew that he hadn't succeeded.

The young woman grinned at him and cocked her head. "Information such as that shouldn't be discussed over an empty stomach. Now eat up!"

The Jedi Master sighed and picked up his spoon, giving his apprentice the signal it was okay to proceed. Anakin gulped the broth with relish, proclaiming the soup to be quite tasty.

Obi-Wan eyed the bowl suspiciously, but eventually picked up a spoonful and placed it into his mouth. His padawan was right. It was quite good. He proceeded to eat, although with not quite so much enthusiasm as the young man sitting next to him.

Sola then entered the room and Obi-Wan could sense the older woman's hesitation as she approached the kitchen. Lacking Dormé's confidence and courage, Sola eyed the Jedi warily and her smile was a bit shaky.

Her actions told the Jedi that there was indeed something going on and he promptly placed his spoon back on the table, just as Anakin picked up his bowl and slurped down the remnants of his meal.

"Good evening, gentleman." Sola said with a smile as she took a seat next to Dormé.

Obi-Wan responded with a nod, eyeing the woman carefully. She smiled again and reached for the ladle in the soup server.

"I'm starved." Sola said, but her actions were halted by Dormé, who placed a firm grip on her arm.

"We'll fix you something else." Dormé said to her, eyes wide.

"I don't want something else." Sola argued, eyeing the steaming broth in front of her. "This looks and smells so good."

"We'll fix you something else." Dormé repeated through clenched teeth.

Her statement and posture warned the Jedi of the danger that he was obviously too late to notice, as he watched his apprentice's head fall forward onto the table with a thud.

He looked up at Dormé, noticing her image becoming more blurry by each passing second.

"Wha…." Obi-Wan attempted to say, but his tongue was suddenly too thick to form the words.

As his strength began to fade and he gave in to the anesthetic effects of whatever Dormé had put into the soup, he wondered why the Force hadn't warned him, and also when he had become so gullible as to fall into the trap of a conniving little bodyguard.

He was smarter than this….


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"Enough with the 'conniving' bit." Dormé insisted, interrupting once again.

"Aunt Dormé! You poisoned Daddy?"

"It wasn't poison, honey." The young woman explained to Obi-Wan and Padmé's daughter. "It was a harmless sleep agent. I just put him to sleep."

"I know someone else who should be asleep." A voice broke into the room as Obi-Wan appeared and walked over to place a kiss to his daughter's forehead. "What's going on in here?"

"Naobi wanted to hear a bedtime story." Padmé told her husband, smiling gently as his lips brushed her cheek. "She insisted on hearing about how you and I got together."

"And what is you two's excuse?" Obi-Wan asked the young couple seated comfortably in each other's arms at the end of Naobi's bed.

"We're here to make sure it doesn't turn into a fairytale." Dormé teased with a playful tongue sticking out toward the senator.

"I'm telling it exactly the way it happened." Padmé claimed.

Obi-Wan looked at her with concern. "Exactly?"

"Well…mostly." She admitted, patting the bed next to her as she made room for her husband to sit down. "Now, where was I?" She asked their daughter.

"The part where Aunt Dormé poisoned Daddy." Naobi responded flatly.

"Sleep, Nay. I put him to sleep." Dormé corrected.

"Yeah, that part." The young girl grinned as she snuggled deeper under her velvet covers, complete contentment washing over her because she knew she was surrounded by those who loved her the most.

* * *

When Anakin awoke, it took a moment for him to remember what had happened. His gaze adapted slowly to the dim lighting in his present damp location, and he realized he was no longer in the kitchen. He could, however, hear Dormé's and Sola's voices, but they were coming from a distance, somewhere above him. 

He must be in a subfloor of the house or in a basement, he figured from the stone walls and narrow high windows.

Only then did he realize, and with much more surprise, that the only items of clothing he had on were his leggings and his thin inner tunic. Those crazy women had stripped him of everything else he had on! Even his socks!

When Obi-Wan awoke, his clearing vision took in a much more pleasant view.

Padmé Amidala was sitting in an overstuffed chair next to a barred window, the evening sun streaming into the yellow painted room, setting her delicate features aglow. He smiled at the beautiful picture she created.

However, when she turned toward him, his smile dissipated as he recalled how he came to be in this room with her in the first place.

"Are you all right?" He asked, sweeping his legs to the side of the bed, starting slightly as he noticed his feet were bare.

"I'm so sorry." Padmé began. "I don't know what's gotten into them."

"They didn't explain to you why they did this?"

"Not yet. I think they were about to, but then you showed up." Padmé looked upon the Jedi, confusion suddenly knitting her brows together. "Just how did she capture you so easily?"

"Some type of somnolence-inducing agent."

"A sleep medication? How did she get you to take it?" Padmé asked with slight disbelief. She thought Jedi were much more perceptive than that.

"It was in the soup she fed us. I should've detected it. I don't know why I didn't. The Force gave me no warning."

"Wait." Padmé leaned forward in her seat. "Can you feel the Force now?"

Obi-Wan looked startled and then gravely concerned as he realized he couldn't. The Force's presence wasn't merely dampened, it had completely vanished.

"How could Dormé block the Force?" He wondered aloud.

"You can't feel it at all?" Padmé asked once again, sitting back in her chair, exasperatedly leaning against her propped up arm.

"No. But how would Dormé get her hands on a Force inhibitor?"

Padmé shook her head. "You're fixing to find out firsthand I'm afraid, that if anything, Dormé is quite resourceful.

* * *

"Resourceful." Dormé repeated with a smile. "I like the sound of that. Much better, Padmé. Thank you." 

"Sh!" The young woman was hushed by Obi-Wan as his wife continued their story.

* * *

"This is insane!" Sola blurted out as she paced across the wooden planked common-room floor. "You're completely insane!" 

"Calm down and stop worrying." Dormé replied as she sat leisurely on the sofa. "Everything is going according to plan."

"You planned this? You planned on drugging two Jedi and keeping them prisoners?" The older woman finally stopped and fell heavily down onto the couch as well. "By the way, how did you do that? I can understand maybe sneaking something into the apprentice's food, but not Kenobi's."

"I have a Force inhibitor."

Sola's eyes squinted shut and she reached up to squeeze the bridge of her nose. "You are aware that those are illegal, aren't you?"

"Yes, but it was the only way." Dormé attempted to justify her actions, but Sola wasn't buying it.

"Dormé, I'm beginning to question your motives here. That young man…"

"Anakin…" the bodyguard inserted the name.

"Anakin." Sola corrected herself with a curious glance at the young woman. "I didn't notice any great concern of his over Padmé's well-being. He seemed much more interested with his meal. If you ask me, Jedi Kenobi was the one worried about her."

"He's Anakin Master." Dormé pointed out. "It's his job to worry."

"Well, it made me wonder. Are you sure you've gotten all your facts straight? Just because Padmé spent some time with Anakin, doesn't necessarily mean anything is going on between them."

"Maybe not, but how do you explain the bridal fitting?" Dormé argued.

"I can't." Sola admitted. "But something just doesn't feel right."

"Fine." The younger woman spat out, hopping up from the couch and retrieving her leather travel bag from near the front door. "We'll just have to consult the crystal. Padmé's in danger, and I can prove it."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

"Put that thing away!" Sola urged as Dormé withdrew a black spherical object from her bag that was about the size of a small sweet melon.

"No. I want to show you what it says." Dormé insisted, holding the orb up in front of her face. She then closed her eyes and asked the inanimate object a question.

"Is Senator Amidala's life in danger?"

The bodyguard then turned the dark globe upside down and waited for an answer.

"See?" She spat out as she approached Sola, holding it out for her to view. "See what it says?"

The older woman cautiously eyed the sphere. "More than likely." She read the glowing white words aloud and then glared at Dormé.

"What?" The bodyguard asked in confusion, but then spoke with determination. "Okay. Watch this."

She then turned the shiny black orb over and asked another question.

"Is Anakin Skywalker the reason for this danger?"

Dormé turned the ball over and read the answer herself. "There's a good chance." She said, holding it out once again for Sola to confirm.

Padmé's sister took one look and then reached out and grabbed the so-called Forici crystal out of Dormé's hand. Holding it at eye level, her eyes however, piercing into Dormé, she asked her own question.

"Is Dormé clinically insane?"

Sola promptly turned the ball over and read the revealed phrase. "100 percent positive." Then she marched across the room, opened the front door to the house and threw the shiny black ball right into the lake.

Dormé rushed up to the front porch railing in a panic. "I can't believe you just did that!" She yelled at Sola, ready to dive into the water, but the weight of the foretelling sphere had already sunk it to the bottom and it no longer could be seen.

"It was for your own good." The smug female announced as she turned and went back into the house with Dormé hot on her heels.

"Why did you do that?" Dormé yelled once they were inside.

"Let me ask **you** a question." Sola spun around, the fury in her eyes causing the younger woman to take a step back. "Where did you buy that hunk of black plasteel?"

Dormé crossed her arms and pouted in the face of Sola's confrontation. "At a quaint little shop in Theed a few years ago."

"Madam Tanomé's?"

The affronted younger woman looked confused for a moment and then let her arms drop to her side. "Yeah. How did you know?"

"Security closed that shop down a couple of months ago due to fraud. That was a fake, Dormé."

Sola then turned and approached the tall built-in shelves next to the fireplace and began rummaging through the rows of books and other knick-knacks.

"Now what are you doing?" Dormé demanded loudly.

"The Force inhibitor. Where is it?" Padmé's sister continued tossing items aside in search for the device. She had never seen one before, but she just knew she would recognize it when she saw it.

"Wait." Dormé pleaded.

"For what!" Sola exclaimed, losing her temper at last. "Until you make things worse than they already are? You've risks our lives, Padmé's life, and possibly those poor Jedi's as well!"

* * *

"Poor Jedi?" Obi-Wan said with a chuckle. 

"Wow. Sola's really upset. She hardly ever raises her voice." Padmé noted as she sat down next to Obi-Wan on the floor, leaning back against the bed.

"And I was just beginning to wonder what I was going to do about them, but it looks like I don't have to do anything."

Padmé glanced at Obi-Wan, appreciative of the sparkle in his blue-green eyes and the way he always seemed to lighten a situation with his humor, improving her mood like he had done many times in the past. But the truth was, she completely missed the joke. "Why do you say that?"

"Because before this is over, one or both of them will be dead. They're gonna end up killing each other."

* * *

"It's over Dormé." Sola spoke vehemently. 

"Please. Wait." Dormé implored, her large brown eyes filling with tears.

She took a deep breath and sat down on the blue and yellow striped chair next to the fireplace. "I know sometimes I get carried away, but you have to believe me. If Padmé ends up marrying Anakin, something bad's gonna happen. I just know it."

"How?" Sola resigned to sit on the sofa after taking a few calming breaths of her own.

"I don't know. Dormé answered. "Anakin just isn't the right one for her. She deserves so much more."

Sola gazed at the young woman intently. Dormé may be a little irresponsible sometimes, but her heart was in the right place, and she truly meant well.

"Two days." The older woman replied after a long moment of silence. "You've got two days to fix this, and then I'm contacting the Jedi Council."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Anakin chose to ignore the ruckus coming from upstairs, although it was quite loud. He couldn't discern what the two women were screeching about and he didn't really care. He was much more concerned with trying to figure out a way to get out of his current predicament and make sure his Master was all right.

But much to his dismay, the Force was beyond his reach. Not only could he not feel the training bond he shared with Obi-Wan, he could not rely upon it to assist in his escape.

He'd already tested the door at the top of the small flight of stairs. The inner core was possibly wood, but the outer frame was durasteel. Without his lightsaber, there was no way he could break through it.

The young man went back down the steps and pushed the lone metal stool in the basement over to one of the high narrow windows. Reaching up, he gripped onto the windowsill and peered through the glass, balancing precariously on the stool.

"What do you think you're doing?" A voice suddenly shouted out behind him, startling the padawan, who immediately teetered and ended up falling off his perch, landing heavily to the floor onto his side, the metal stool skittering across the stone floor.

Anakin groaned as he clutched his ribs, feeling a pain radiating up his back and then small but strong hands gripping his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry!" Dormé declared as she attempted to help him stand, but Anakin moved into a seated posture with his back against the cool, damp wall, curiously viewing the young woman crouched before him. "Are you hurt?"

"No. I don't think so." Anakin rolled his shoulders, the pain turning into a dull, subsiding ache. He then turned his attention once more to Dormé, surprised to see a playful smirk on her face.

"I thought Jedi were more coordinated than that." She said, leaning her head onto her hands, propped on her knees.

But the apprentice obviously did not see the humor in the situation. "I can't feel the Force, and I suppose you have something to do with that!"

The smile quickly disappeared from the bodyguard's face. "I sure do." She answered quite smugly. "I have a Force inhibitor in the house."

"So, you knew we were coming." Anakin noted with a glare. Who did this woman think she was anyway? "But I don't understand why you're holding me and my Master hostage."

"I have to protect the senator." Dormé murmured, rising quickly to her feet.

Protect her from the Jedi? Why would Dormé feel the need to do that? Unless there was somebody else threatening the senator. Someone they didn't know about. Someone Force sensitive perhaps?

"Protect her from who?" He finally asked.

"From you!" Came the loud, accusatory reply.

"It's too quiet." Padmé noted as the stillness of the evening settled inside and outside the small lake home.

"That could be a bad sign." Obi-Wan jokingly replied.

"They're not dead." Padmé chuckled, but then turned somber as she dwelled on that exact possibility.

"Maybe not, but I'd like to know what they're up to, and what they did with my apprentice." The Jedi pondered as he sat next to the young senator, focusing upon a pair of bare feet that were sticking out from underneath her dark green velvet gown. They were petite like she was, the toenails manicured and painted. Quite attractive, as far as feet went, he decided.

"I was wondering about that myself." The senator said as her eyes drifted down the tan leggings to Obi-Wan's toes. Nails trimmed almost too short, she noted. They weren't too big and at least they were straight. Not bad looking at all, for feet.

"I hope that he's all right." She added and from the corner of her eye saw Obi-Wan's attention move upward to her face, and she turned her head to meet his gaze.

"You're worried about him, aren't you?" He asked, fully aware that Anakin had been spending a lot of his spare time with the young woman, and the truth was, he couldn't blame him. Padmé was a beautiful creature. He had always thought so. But underneath her beauty, she was also intelligent, brave, and compassionate. Qualities that he admired in a female.

He would have pursued a relationship with her himself after Naboo, but acquiring an apprentice had required his full attention. Attention that he hadn't wanted to deny her. She deserved much more than he could give her at the time.

In just a few years though, Anakin would be facing his trials and then Obi-Wan have much more free time. Maybe then, he would allow himself the opportunity to pursue other pleasures. And the company of Padmé Amidala would certainly have been pleasurable.

However, it now seemed that he was too late. His apprentice had obviously noticed her and how could he not? One would have to be blind not to see her many favorable attributes.

"Of course I'm worried." Padmé answered Obi-Wan's question.

And although it pained him to hear it, the Jedi simply had to ask. "So tell me. How serious are you about my apprentice?"

Obi-Wan's gaze flickered from the blush of her lips to those deep, dark orbs, and he was surprised at the flash of confusion that he saw there, as short-lived as it was. What he saw now in her face though, could only be described as relief.

"I'm not." She sighed. "We're just friends."

"But what about all the dates, the messages, the secret meetings?" The Jedi asked in confusion to which Padmé smiled sweetly in return.

"I've been helping Anakin with a….project." She explained, hope bubbling within her, coloring her cheeks. Was that the reason Obi-Wan had been so distant with her? He was friendly, yes, but nothing like he was when they first met. At that time, he had been attentive, energetic, and even flirtatious.

After the Naboo Occupation had ended, Padmé had half expected him to ask her out, but then Master Jinn had been killed and Obi-Wan had begun training Anakin, and then…Well, then they had simply lost touch.

Until recently when her life had been threatened and the two Jedi had been assigned as her protection.

However, upon seeing Obi-Wan again, Padmé had immediately noticed the change. He was not only more older, he was much more serious; all duty and business – like a Jedi Master should be.

Anakin, however, was charming, attentive, and funny and they quickly became good friends. So when the young man had asked for her help, she couldn't refuse him.

Besides, spending time with the padawan guaranteed that some day, her path would cross with his Master's. Or at least she had hoped so.

Was it possible that the reason for Obi-Wan's lack of interest was that he thought she was romantically involved with his apprentice?

She had to find out.

Firming her resolve, Padmé decided to test her theory. Boldly reaching out with one hand, she grasped onto Obi-Wan's. "Anakin and I are just friends." She confirmed, watching his face intently, her chest swelling with joy as the grip on her hand tightened and a large smile erupted on his most handsome face.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Padmé tried to warn me about you." Anakin mumbled as he shivered against the cold dampness of the stone floor and wall. "She said you were going to get the wrong idea."

"Excuse me? What are you saying?" Dormé approached the young Jedi who seemed to be talking to himself, but she had heard the words "wrong idea" and now she was intrigued.

"That Padmé told me you'd think something was going on and that we shouldn't keep it a secret. It's just that she wanted the wedding to be a simple affair. A small gathering of just family and a few close friends. I was going to tell Master Obi-Wan, but he's been so focused lately. He wouldn't understand. He would think I was being distracted from my training and my focus of becoming a Jedi. You know, sometimes I wonder if the man is celibate. He never talks about anything any more except work."

"Anakin!" Dormé interrupted his rambling as she was now thoroughly confused. "What are you talking about!?"

"The wedding." He responded simply as he curled up to preserve his body heat.

"Yes, I know all about it. Dormé spat back in aggravation. "The senator's bridal fitting is tomorrow. Well, it looks like she's going to miss that, now doesn't it?" The bodyguard added with a sneer. "As well as this little wedding you two have planned. Oh yes, I know all about it and I'm not about to let you marry her, Anakin Skywalker!"

* * *

"Aunt Dormé?" 

"Yes, honey?" Dormé peered at the little girl whose eyes were beginning to glaze over with sleepiness.

"How come you hate Uncle Ani so much?"

"I never hated him, Nay. At the time, I was just…misinformed."

"Yeah, by a piece of black plasteel." Obi-Wan remarked before receiving a playful pinch on his arm from his wife.

"Well, pardon me. But some of us don't have this all-encompassing freaky energy source to guide us like you two do." She smirked, eyeing the two Jedi. "And besides, I was just doing what I thought was best for your mama." Dormé smiled at the little girl.

"We know." Obi-Wan replied with a grin of his own. They'd all forgiven Dormé a long time ago.

Naobi scrunched her face as she watched Anakin place a tender kiss to Dormé's brow. If they didn't like each other back then, they sure did now. She decided to ask her mother to continue the story before things got worse and the grown-ups began kissing for real.

"Keep going, mom." She requested before a big yawn escaped her.

* * *

Anakin chuckled. That explained a lot. If Dormé thought that he and Padmé were getting married, he wouldn't put it past her to do anything to stop it. He couldn't wait to see her face when he told her the truth. 

He opened his mouth to do just that when another thought struck him, and he ended up asking a question instead.

"Hey, what's so wrong with me?" The young man was quickly on his feet and was soon towering over Dormé. He grinned wryly when he realized that even in the face of a much taller and stronger opponent, the young woman didn't look the least bit intimidated.

"Whey wouldn't I make Padmé a good husband?"

Dormé glared up into a pair of deep blue eyes and momentarily lost her concentration. Just one step forward and she could be pressed up against the muscular chest, possibly wrapped up in equally muscular arms…

Wait a minute! This is the senator's fianceé ! She shook her head to focus her thoughts and replied: "You're too arrogant."

"Confident." Anakin responded.

"Argumentative."

"Strong-willed." Anakin replied, fighting against the sudden irrational urge to kiss that beautiful smirk off her face.

"Stubborn." Dormé continued, her eyes now focused on the way his lips moved when they formed words.

"And you're not?" He argued.

"Fine." Dormé acquiesced, but still kept going. "You're too young for her. She needs someone more stable and secure. Someone more mature."

"Someone like my master." Anakin realized. It was no secret that Obi-Wan had feelings for the young senator. Padmé had always been a favorite topic of discussion between them – at least until the past few tens when he had been meeting secretly with her.

"Yes." Dormé agreed. "Obi-Wan would make Padmé a fine husband."

"Well, maybe you should focus all your energy on getting the two of **them** together."

Dormé looked at the young man with a shocked expression. "What?"

Anakin chuckled again and gently grasped the young woman by the arms. "The wedding is for my mother and Cliegg Lars. I asked Padmé to help me find her a dress. She and my mom are about the same size."

Dormé looked dumbfounded for a moment. "You…" She stammered. "You're setting up a wedding for your mother?"

The information was settling rather slowly, but still the critic inside her protested. Padmé may be her size, sure, but it made much more sense if Anakin needed the senator's help for other reasons. Probably money.

But then Anakin began speaking again, his words washing away all of her cynicism and suddenly, Dormé felt about two centimeters tall.

"It took me a while to save up enough credits, but it's the perfect dress. Mom's gonna love it. She'll be so surprised -- that is, if I get it to her on time."

The young man let his hands drop slowly and Dormé unconsciously leaned into the retreating caress.

"Why? When's the wedding?"

"Three days from now." Anakin replied, looking disappointed.

"Three days!" Dormé repeated rather loudly before grabbing a hold of the young man's hand and digging for her code card to open the door with her other hand.

"Come on!" She insisted, dragging him up the stairs behind her. "We've got to get you to that wedding!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Dormé handed Anakin his clothing, utility belt and lightsaber, after which she dug into her pack to find her communicator, trying not to disturb Sola who lay snoring on the couch.

She stepped out onto the front terrace and activated the comlink. "Bartel? Come in. This is Dormé."

In a few clicks, a gruff voice answered her hail.

"Miss Dormé? What in the blazes are you doin' comming me at this hour!?"

"There's been a change of plans. I need you to bring the boat back tonight. As soon as possible."

"No can do." The hired captain replied with a drawl.

"Bartel? Are you drunk?" Dormé asked, somewhat agitated.

"As a Correllian gambler on a fifth day night!" The man answered with a rude chuckle.

"Then find someone else! We need to get to town!" Dormé argued, trying desperately to control the volume of her voice.

"No can do." The man repeated.

"And just why not?"

"Storm's comin' in. Too dangerous. Just stay put. I'll see ya' in the mornin' if my hangover ain't too bad."

"Wait!" Dormé pleaded, but the link went dead just as lightning crackled across the blackening horizon.

The desperate young woman eyed the double-occupancy speeder boat that Obi-Wan and Anakin had arrived in as it rocked against the shoreline below. Perhaps Anakin and Padmé could make it across in that thing before the storm hit, she thought. But then a cold, strong wind shot across the waters, white capping the dark waves, and the sky flashed again with a dramatic series of bolts.

Then again, maybe not.

Dormé went back inside and noticed that Sola was waking up, probably due to the approaching booming sounds of thunder.

"What's going on?" The older woman murmured as she rubbed her neck.

"Long story short? I'm a complete idiot and we have to get Anakin back to Theed so that he can make it to his mother's wedding." Dormé answered.

"His mother's?" Sola repeated, casting a glance toward the young man who was busy buckling his boots.

"Yes. The wedding is in three days and Padmé was helping him pick out a dress for her."

"Did you contact Bartel?" Sola asked, rising to her feet and catching a glimpse of the approaching storm out the window.

"I tried, but he said he can't bring the boat over in this weather. Looks like we're going to have to wait it out."

Dormé then turned her attention to Anakin, who had walked over to look through the open door. Dormé followed, looking rather contrite for once in her life. "I'm so sorry, Anakin. I messed up everything."

"It's okay, Dormé." The young man said much to Sola's surprise. But even more surprising was when the apprentice reached up and brushed his knuckles gently across the bodyguard's cheek.

Sola watched the silent byplay between the two, wondering just how long she had been asleep. Things certainly had changed, but at least the matter was getting resolved.

"What did Obi-Wan and Padmé have to say about all of this?" She asked them after giving the two a moment.

Dormé smiled sheepishly at Anakin who returned the gesture.

"We didn't tell them yet." She admitted, turning to Sola. "I completely forgot about them."

The three moved toward the lone bedroom with Dormé walking ahead of the others, Anakin following closely behind her. Sola was still confused though and questioned the apprentice as they walked.

"Why so secretive about this wedding?"

"It's a long story." He replied, smiling at Dormé who had turned her head to look at him.

They paused upon reaching the door, but Sola's continued comments delayed their entrance.

"Then I'm assuming Obi-Wan believes what we did. That you and Padmé were engaged."

"It's possible." Anakin replied after some thought.

"That's too bad." Dormé noted. "The senator has had feelings for him for some time."

"Does Obi-Wan know that?" Sola asked just as Dormé keyed open the door.

Peering inside, the three of them saw the oblivious couple lying on the bed face to face. They were fully dressed as much as they had been before, but one of the Jedi's arms was wrapped securely around the senator and Padmé didn't look at all as if she minded. Her head was tucked up underneath the Jedi's chin and they both had rather pleased expressions on their faces as they slept.

Dormé turned to look at the smiles reflected on the faces behind her and whispered.

"I guess it's safe to say that he knows now."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: The rating for this chapter has changed to M. Please read responsibly. : )**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

Booming thunder and flashes of lightning increased their activity outside the lake home as the storm moved overhead. The vibrations of it rattled anything that wasn't secure.

Dormé, Anakin, and Sola settled in for the night, the older woman lying back down onto the small sofa, while the other two created a pallet from the chair cushions to lie on the floor in front of the fireplace.

Soon, Sola was snoring again, but Dormé could not rest. At least not until after adding several logs to the fire, Anakin lay down next to her. She snuggled into his welcoming embrace, her head propped upon his chest, and the two of them gradually joined their slumbering partner.

However, down the hall and behind closed doors, a pair of gray-green eyes flew open due to the thunder that ricocheted off the bedroom window. It took a moment for the Jedi to recall his whereabouts and situation, but when he did, he pulled the warm body in his arms closer to him and placed a tender kiss upon her head.

Padmé had told him about Shmi's wedding plans and the reason for Anakin's secrecy. Normally, Obi-Wan would be put off by his apprentice keeping this from him, but he discovered with some surprise that he didn't really care. What he did care about was that Padmé and Anakin were not a couple as he had initially thought, which meant that the young woman's heart was free.

But not for long. Not if he had anything to do with it.

"Mmmm." The young senator murmured in response to the press of lips upon her scalp.

* * *

"All right. Stop, stop stop!" Naobi shook her head. "This is getting gross! I thought you said you weren't going to tell me any mushy stuff!" 

"Oh yeah." Padmé replied with a half grin. "I'll just skip that part."

But the senator's mind was already reliving the past, and from the look on her husband's face, he was as well.

If it hadn't been for Obi-Wan's willpower that night, it would've been their first time. Padmé blushed as she recalled awakening to his kiss upon her brow, reaching up almost without thought because it seemed the natural thing to do – pulling his face down to seal her lips upon his. Her earlier moan of drowsy delight gave way to a groan of pleasure as his hands pressed her body impossibly closer until she could feel his mounting desire pressing into her belly.

Padmé felt uninhibited and absolutely vulnerable for the first time in her life, and when that normally would have been a frightening experience, she was strangely comforted in the fact that she completely trusted him; not only with her life, but with her heart as well.

Gasping at the rawness of the passion that he felt, Obi-Wan was shocked to find himself losing control and he pulled away from the kiss, to hold her tightly.

"I've wanted you for so long." He murmured as the lightning crackled across the sky, momentarily brightening the room in a flash of light.

"Yes." Padmé responded, the word both a mutual agreement and a plea, as she arched her back and rubbed up against him shamelessly.

Obi-Wan moaned in response, the pressure against his groin maddening, and he desperately clutched onto what little control he had left.

"Not here, Padmé." He told her, his voice roughened with desire. "Dormé and Sola could walk in at any minute." Without the use of the Force, Obi-Wan realized that he could not offer them the privacy that they needed. He hoped that she understood his decision to wait, because if she didn't, he wasn't sure if he would be able to resist for much longer. He wanted her so badly.

Padmé withdrew from the embrace, running her fingers through silky locks and then along a coarse beard before tracing his slightly parted lips. She had never desired anything so much in her life. But now was not the place or the time. Obi-Wan was right, but she couldn't help but be a little disappointed.

"Okay." She agreed with a whisper.

The Jedi Knight kissed the slight frown away, urging Padmé onto her back. They may not be able to go as far as they both would like this evening, but there were plenty of other things they could do, he thought as a coy smile turned up one side of his mouth.

With a gentle application of his fingers, Obi-Wan performed a tactile study of her beautiful face -- noting the way her brows arched across forehead, the small moles on either cheek and the light dusting of freckles across her nose that he never would have noticed before and was thrilled to know about now.

He wanted to know every detail of her, both physically and intimately.

The gown she wore was open along the neckline just enough to afford a view of tempting cleavage and he placed his lips there, suckling the soft skin, inhaling her natural sweet fragrance, as well as feeling the rapid pulse of heartbeat.

One hand was added to Obi-Wan's oral perusal and Padmé's body arched into his caress as it drifted over the bodice of her dress, the firm mound of flesh beneath his palm a perfect fit, like he just knew the rest of her would be.

His movements drifted further down as he lifted his head. He wanted to see her face when his fingers found her.

Force, she was beautiful like this. A rosy blush had risen over her chest, neck, and face and her lips were parted, her breath coming out in quiet pants.

When he finally discovered his target, Padmé's eyes flew open as did her mouth and he quickly covered it with his own, lest she disturb the occupants of the house. His tongue delved as deep as his fingers, and Padmé squirmed underneath him, until he felt her body tense and inner muscles spasm against his hand.

He allowed her to come down slowly, trailing kisses along her face and jaw. Obi-Wan then lifted his head and smiled when he saw the expression she wore. It was a mixture of complete satiety and a touch of drowsiness.

"Don't look so smug." She chuckled and pushed him backward onto the bed. "Now I get to return the favor."

"Padmé, you don't have to." He began, but was silenced with a pair of soft, full lips, urging his mouth open to allow entry of a talented tongue. Much more talented than he had imagined. She was obviously more experienced than he had believed, and he entertained the thought of asking if he was going to be her first. But then decided against it. What did it matter? He was going to be her last and her best. Maybe not tonight, but soon.

Very soon.

She had waited so long for this. For him. It almost didn't seem real.

"Do you know how long I've dreamt of this?" She asked him as her hands deftly moved underneath his light tunic and drifted over rippling abdominal muscles, going higher to tease the tufts of hair upon his chest.

"No. Tell me." Obi-Wan responded right before a gasp escaped him as Padmé pinched his nipple.

"Too long." She answered, allowing her hand to drift back down to the place that she knew needed her touch the most.

She delighted in the twisting of his hips in response to her caress and boldly opened his trousers to feel his warm, rigid flesh.

"You want me." Padme declared seductively as her gentle strokes firmed and quickened.

"Yesss." Obi-Wan hissed his reply, his hips involuntarily rocking in unison to the rhythm Padmé's hand had created.

"Well, you can have me."

"Not here." He insisted through clenched teeth. Please don't ask, he silently begged. There wasn't anything he wanted more right now than to thrust inside the heat of her.

"That's not what I meant." She quickly explained. "I mean, I'm yours, Obi-Wan."

Padmé locked gazes with him, her statement confirmed in the depth of emotion displayed through their eyes, until Obi-Wan's rolled back in his head and a shudder rippled through his body.

"Padmé…" His voice whispered her name before she sealed her promise with a kiss and then lay back down in her original position, the stained sheet being tossed to the end of the bed, as the distant thunder rolled.

"Do you know what frightens me?" Obi-Wan spoke into the silence after a long moment, the rain beginning to spatter against the window.

Padmé experienced a flash of panic. Here it comes, she thought. What was it? His age? He was just ten years old than she was. Or was it their lifestyle? Romantic attachments weren't forbidden for the Jedi. Maybe he didn't like politicians, or maybe he was too busy with training his apprentice.

"What is it?" She finally gathered the courage to ask, steeling herself for any answer he would give.

"I'm afraid we owe Dormé a huge favor."

Padmé chuckled in relief, squeezing Obi-Wan tightly. He placed another soothing kiss to the top of her head and together they drifted back to sleep, the sounds of the night filling the peaceful Naboo Lake house.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

"Is that the end of the story?" The small girl asked as her father brushed his fingers through her dark tresses.

"No, not quite." He answered quietly, grinning at the sight of his daughter's drooping eyelids; a sure sign that she was finally giving up the struggle to stay awake.

"We can finish it tomorrow." Her mother promised. "It's getting late."

"But I'm not sleepy!" Naobi argued, stifling a huge yawn with her hand.

"Just a little more and then you're going to sleep." Padmé informed her, and then continued the tale.

* * *

The sunlight cast a prism of brilliant colors across Lake Naboo, the scattered clouds glowing various shades of pink and orange. 

The ferry captain known as Mr. Bartel pulled his passenger barge up to the stone landing platform of the Naboo Lake Retreat, but he was not picking up passengers this day, he was dropping them off.

The small gathered crowd milling about the wide, tree-lined portico was called to attention by a Nubian official, who announced that the ceremony was about to begin. The man in long robes signaled to the dark-haired woman standing by the door to the house and she opened it slowly.

The crowd showed their approval of the upcoming union through their applause and the bright smiles on their faces, but none were as bright as the older Tatooine woman holding tightly onto the arm of her husband.

She had been blessed not once, but twice recently. Having found love herself, her only other hope was that her only son would as well.

Shmi Lars wiped away a tear as it escaped down her cheek and was quickly consoled by a tender kiss from her husband Cliegg. The happy couple then turned their attention to the young people strolling through the doorway arm in arm.

Dormé glanced out into the watching crowd and then up into her future husband's face, searching for the courage to step forward. She wasn't afraid of the commitment she was about to take, just of doing so in front of so many people.

Anakin, as always, gazed at her with the utmost confidence and respect, and in addition to the supportive glances from Padmé, her matron of honor, and Obi-Wan, Anakin's best man, she stepped forward in order to take her vows and pledge her life and love to Anakin Skywalker.

* * *

"Padmé." Obi-Wan gently interrupted his wife's story. "I think she's asleep."

The senator stopped her tale and leaned forward to place a tender kiss to her daughter's brow. Obi-Wan did the same and then tucked the coverlet about his slumbering daughter's shoulders.

Anakin and Dormé crept quietly from the room, followed by the parents, who paused at the little girl's doorway.

"She reminds me of you." Padmé whispered.

"Of me?" Obi-Wan's mouth gaped in mock denial.

"Yes. She has your insatiable curiosity."

"And your stubborn streak." The Jedi countered with a playful grin.

Padmé smiled smugly as if that were actually a compliment. "True." She stated and Obi-Wan laughed softly, drawing her against his chest, ghosting a kiss into her hair.

"The next time I tell this story, maybe I'll shorten it just a little." Padmé added, checking the chronometer on the wall above Naobi's bed and noting that it was quite late.

"The next time?" Obi-Wan repeated in confusion. Surely, their daughter wouldn't want to hear all that again.

"I'm sure our son will want to hear about it as well," she explained, "and probably with much more detail."

"Probably." Obi-Wan agreed with a nod. "If he's anything like his mother, scrutinizing every tiny little…"

The Jedi Master paused when he noticed the incredulous look on his wife's face.

Wait.

Our son?

"Padmé?" He began, swallowing hard. "Are you…are we going to have another baby?"

"Mm hmm." The senator responded with a vigorous nod just before she was scooped up into her husband's arms.

"I guess this means you're pleased." She replied once she regained her ability to breathe and her feet were once again touching the floor.

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Nine years is a long time between children, Obi-Wan." Padmé reminded him, her voice edged with slight concern. "You're nearly forty-five years of age."

Obi-Wan calmed the worry with a quick kiss. "I don't care if I'm a hundred and five, as long as he looks like you." The Jedi's face beamed with a bright smile. "A son!" He exclaimed quietly so as not to disturb their sleeping daughter.

"Yes. A son." Padmé sighed with a smile of her own. It was a much different response than when she had had told him about Naobi. He was happy then too, but only after he had gotten over the initial shock. At the time, Obi-Wan was concerned with the state of the Republic and training his apprentice. He had been worried he wouldn't have enough time to help her raise a child.

But now. Now the galaxy was at peace and Anakin was a knight and married himself.

Now, they could rejoice equally. Together.

"Come on." She prompted him with a pull on his arm, shutting Naobi's door behind them.

"Where are we going?"

"Well, once we get rid of Anakin and Dormé, we're going to do a little celebrating." Padmé grinned slyly at her husband before they began walking down the hall.

"And what did you have in mind, my dear Mrs. Kenobi?"

"Oh…" Padmé replied innocently. "Maybe a little of that mushy stuff."

-End-

* * *

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews. I'm working on an outline to a more dramatic/angsty fic right now. It's not quite ironed out yet, but is in the works. The title will be "Ambition" and it will be a Padmé POV fic, a bit of AU off of TPM and AOTC, and will include Anakin as well. 


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